The Department of War Mentor-Protégé Program is soliciting white papers for reimbursable Mentor-Protégé Agreements in which large prime contractors provide developmental assistance to eligible small businesses to strengthen the Defense Industrial Base. The process is two-phase—white paper then invited final proposal—and awards will be subawards under the DOW OSBP&IE cooperative agreement. Technical priorities include IT modernization/cloud, data integration and AI/analytics, cyber and industrial security, and digital workforce/governance, with allowable assistance spanning technical/engineering, business development, contracting/FAR/DFARS, facility clearance/personnel security, cybersecurity, FOCI, and IT enhancement. The Protégé Pilot Initiative permits protégés to propose War Fighter-supporting projects up to 25% of the annual reimbursable agreement budget. Period of performance is capped at 36 months, typically a 12-month base plus two optional 12-month periods; mentors must have at least $25M in DOW contracts in the prior fiscal year, and active SAM.gov registration is mandatory.

The Department of War (DOW) Mentor-Protégé Program seeks large prime contractors with $25M or more in prior fiscal-year DOW contracts to provide reimbursable developmental assistance to eligible small-business protégés, with no credit or hybrid agreements accepted. The program focuses on IT/cloud modernization, data/AI analytics, cyber and industrial security, and digital workforce/governance, while allowable assistance includes technical, business, security, cybersecurity, DCAA accounting, proposal, and FOCI support. Participation uses a two-phase white paper/final proposal process, with evaluations based on DOW/national-security alignment, technical approach, cost reasonableness, endorsements, FOCI, eligibility, and required HBCU/MSI/APEX/SBDC/WBC/MEP involvement. Protégés may optionally include a Protégé Pilot Initiative application for engineering, software, or manufacturing projects capped at 25% of the annual reimbursable agreement budget. The period of performance is capped at 36 months, typically a 12-month base plus two 12-month options at government discretion, and participants bear all proposal preparation costs.

The Department of War (DOW) Mentor-Protégé Program incentivizes large prime contractors with $25M or more in prior-fiscal-year DOW contracts to provide developmental assistance to eligible small businesses, aiming to strengthen the Defense Industrial Base. It uses a two-phase process—white papers first, then invited final proposals—and issues reimbursable subawards under the DOW OSBP MPP-I Cooperative Agreement; credit or hybrid agreements are not accepted. Protégés may also apply for the Protégé Pilot Initiative, with projects capped at up to 25% of the annual budget of the respective reimbursable agreement. The program prioritizes IT/cloud modernization, data/AI analytics, cyber and industrial security, and digital workforce/governance, with allowable assistance spanning technical, business, federal contracting, facility clearance, cybersecurity, DCAA accounting, proposal development, FOCI, and IT system enhancements. Period of performance is capped at 3 years/36 months, typically a 12-month base plus two 12-month option periods.

The Department of War (DOW) Mentor-Protégé Program incentivizes large prime contractors to provide developmental assistance to eligible small businesses to strengthen the Defense Industrial Base. It is a two-phase Broad Agency Announcement involving a white paper followed by a final proposal for selected submitters, with reimbursable agreements only and no credit or hybrid agreements. Mentor eligibility includes prime contractors with $25M or more in DOW contracts in the last fiscal year and an active DOW subcontracting plan; protégés must be eligible small businesses meeting SBA size standards and specified socioeconomic or nontraditional criteria. Technical priorities include IT/cloud modernization, data/AI analytics, cyber and industrial security, and digital workforce/governance, while allowable assistance covers areas such as technical/engineering support, business development, FCL sponsorship, cybersecurity compliance, DCAA-compliant accounting, proposal support, FOCI mitigation, and IT systems enhancement. The period of performance is capped at 3 years/36 months, typically a 12-month base plus two 12-month options; optional Protégé Pilot Initiative projects may request up to 25% of the annual reimbursable agreement budget, and attachments are being revised with an expected update by 15 October 2026.

The Department of War (DOW) Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) is a Broad Agency Announcement seeking reimbursable Mentor-Protégé Agreements that incentivize large prime contractors to provide developmental assistance to eligible small businesses to strengthen the Defense Industrial Base. The program uses a two-phase process: initial white papers followed by invited final proposals, with awards issued as subawards under the DOW OSBP MPP-I Cooperative Agreement. Protégés must be eligible small businesses meeting SBA size standards and specified socioeconomic/national-security criteria, while Mentors must be prime contractors with $25M or more in DOW contracts in the last fiscal year, an active DOW subcontracting plan, and DOW OSBP approval. Technical priorities include IT/cloud modernization, data integration and AI, cyber/industrial security, and digital workforce/governance, with allowable developmental assistance spanning technical, business, security, cybersecurity, accounting, proposal, and FOCI support. The period of performance is capped at three years/36 months, typically as a 12-month base with two optional 12-month periods, and an optional Protégé Pilot Initiative allows Protégé projects up to 25% of the reimbursable agreement’s annual budget.

The Department of War Mentor-Protégé Program incentivizes large prime contractors to provide developmental assistance to eligible small businesses, helping them become more competitive in the Defense Industrial Base while strengthening the supplier network. It uses a two-phase process: white papers are accepted on a rolling basis and, if selected, offerors may be invited to submit a final proposal; agreements are reimbursable only. Mentors generally must be prime contractors with $25M+ in DOW contracts in the prior fiscal year and an active DOW subcontracting plan, while Protégés must be small businesses meeting SBA size standards and qualifying under specified socio-economic or national-security categories, with active SAM.gov registration mandatory. Technical priorities include IT modernization/cloud/NBIS, data integration and AI, cyber and industrial security with insider threat and Zero Trust, and digital workforce/governance. Allowable developmental assistance covers technical/engineering, business development, FAR/DFARS training, facility clearance/personnel security, DFARS/NIST/CMMC cybersecurity, DCAA-compliant accounting, proposal support, FOCI mitigation, and IT upgrades; the period of performance is capped at 3 years/36 months, typically a 12-month base plus two 12-month options, and optional PPI projects are capped at 25% of the annual reimbursable agreement budget.